Cytokinetics stock plunged more than 16% Thursday to $84.95 after talks reportedly broke down with potential buyer Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS).
Shares of the biopharmaceutical company have more than doubled since the end of October on speculation of a deal, and on Wednesday the stock closed at $101.63 on speculation that a deal would go through.
Earlier this week, Novartis appeared to be in the lead to acquire Cytokinetics, ahead of rival bidders AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). The reason for the breakdown in talks is unclear.
Now, Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan said the company’s M&A approach is focused on small acquisitions worth less than $5 billion, according to an interview with CNBC.
Cytokinetics is developing a treatment for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic chronic heart disease that can trigger cardiac arrest, called aficamten.